Hey All,

Sitting around in post holiday glow up at my folk's place I decided to jot down a few lines. Enjoy. ;) Happy Holidays.

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Twas the Night After Christmas
by Wes Culwell

Twas the night after Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was hungry, not even the mouse.

The stockings hung empty on the chimney now bare,
With the memory that St. Nicholas had just been right there.

The children were done with all their new toys,
And the streets were now empty of each girl and each boy.

My darling lay sleeping still under his cap,
While our family got cozy for their long, post-meal nap.

When loud from next door there arose such a sound,
It shook my small house like a quake underground.

Away to the window with one thought in my mind,
I pulled on the string and I opened the blinds.

The moon shown so bright on the house down below,
I could see in the windows like my own private show.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a loud, bustling party ringing in the New Year.

With my neighbor and folks, drinking so quick,
I thought,''This soon has to stop or we're all to be sick.''

Speaking in rhythm with the large, boldfaced clock,
The crowd yelled together and time did they mock.

''Now Ten! Now, Nine! Now, Eight and now Seven!
Six, Five, Four, Three, Nine minus Eleven!
Raise your cups high for the time is now near!
Happy New, Happy New, Happy New Year!''

I said, ''This is just crazy. This is absurd!
Christmas just ended, we still have the bird!''

So o'er to the house through our yards I flew,
With my Christmas hat on and my Christmas robe too.

And then, in a moment, as soon as I knocked,
I heard someone say, ''Shhh, I think it's the cops.''

As I drew my face close with my hands cupped around,
I could see my old neighbor calming them down.

He was dressed in a robe, and with a beard he did bother,
You guessed it. That's right. He was dressed as Time's Father.

I knocked once again, oh my ears how they ached,
I yelled, ''Christmas just finished, please give us a break!
I've seen cousins, I've seen Aunts and I've seen Uncles,
I ate so much food I popped a few buckles!''

His eyes fell upon me as he walked 'cross the floor,
And in no time he quickly had opened the door.

''Happy New Year!'' He said with a smile and a hug,
And just like that he pulled me in with a tug.

''Attention all, this here's my best neighbor,
Welcome him in, please do me this favor.''

''Now WAIT just one moment. Stop singing that song!
Christmas just finished you all have it wrong!

New Years will happen for better or worse,
But it's not 'til next month on January first!

In the age where holidays come at us so fast,
Please, let's enjoy Christmas before we move past.''

The party was quiet, there wasn't a peep,
And I thought, ''Now finally, I can go get some sleep!''

My neighbor leaned close, ''That's it don't you see,
It's the holidays to blame. It's them and not me.

We've got New Year's, Valentines, St. Patty's, oh my,
Then Easter, and Mum's Day and Fourth of July!

Family and friends are spread over the globe,
Now that we're here to celebrating we're owed.''

His party was filled with all walks of life,
To his family and friends I said, ''Enough of this strife.''

With a smile and a nod I tipped my green hat,
And left through the door stepping o'er the mat.

My darling still lay all cozy in bed,
And I curled up alongside, head next to head.

The noise had stirred no one like I thought it just might,
So, Happy Holidays, plural, and to all a goodnight!

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Ok, so we all know the controversy surrounding Mel and his infamous DUI night. But how can I pass up the opportunity to see a pre-release screening of Mel Gibson's, Apocalypto, tonight at my film school. There is a rumor he's going to show as well. Hmmm... we'll see about that. Doubtful. If he does I hope he's not drunk and not yelling anti-semitic comments at us. I'll have my camera phone ready just in case. ;) The reviews on the piece are good. They say you sit, the film starts and it doesn't let go for a little over two hours. Full update tomorrow...

I had the chance to explore southern Mexico this spring and hike the majority of the ruins shown in the movie. My liason to the tourism bureau was Mel Gibson's contact as well. They went to villages looking for people who still spoke the dead language of the Yucatec Mayans. She took me around to show me the film sites. It was fantastic. They had success and that's where Gibson gets the accurate portrayel of the language in the film. Here's some shots I took while I was down there. I was asked to put a short together using nothing but my cell phone video. It was an online project--here are just some unedited rough cuts of the clips from my little camera phone:

MERIDA SHORT
DOUBLE CLICK

Sweet Lord, are the religious right still getting press? Can't they just live in crazy-town all by themselves and quit subjugating the rest of us to it?

Commentary below the article.

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AP - WASHINGTON (Nov. 30)
Pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren on Wednesday defended his invitation to Sen. Barack Obama to speak at his church despite objections from evangelicals who oppose the Democrat.

Obama is one of nearly 60 speakers scheduled to address the second annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church beginning Thursday at Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.

Obama, who is mulling a run for president, plans to take an HIV test during his appearance Friday and encourage others to do the same. The Illinois Democrat...is urging unity to fight AIDS despite differences on other issues.

Conservative evangelical Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, e-mailed reporters Tuesday to protest the visit because of Obama's liberal views and support of abortion rights. "Senator Obama's policies represent the antithesis of biblical ethics and morality, not to mention supreme American values," Schenck wrote.

Obama issued a written statement saying while he respects differing views on abortion, he hopes for unity "to honor the entirety of Christ's teachings by working to eradicate the scourge of AIDS, poverty and other challenges we all can agree must be met.

Though still in his first term in the Senate, Obama has attracted national attention for his fresh face, commanding speaking style and compelling personal story. He also has encouraged liberals to engage in religious discourse and not leave the topic to conservatives to claim as their own.

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Do these people not get it? America voted you and your republican monkey leader "crazy" last election. Get off it. You claim that "every life is precious" and hide behind this Pro-Life guise when you discount the "precious lives" of every woman your ideology would effect. It's disgraceful and it's unchristian. You're the first to run to the polls to vote in leaders who decimate thousands of "precious lives" in other countries. Reports of Iraq civilian casualties alone has topped 100,000. You are the first to raise your bibles in fear of marriage equality denying rights to an entire minority of "precious lives."

Let's just be honest here. Lives are "precious" to you as long as they look like you and act like you and are sitting next to you every Sunday with a hand waiving in the air. How about coming together with people from ALL walks of life--kind of like Jesus did--to discuss plagues like AIDS and poverty. Now there's a Christian idea!

Let's face it folks, Jesus was a liberal.

-W